Aspirational Indian Automaker Brand War

. This is a discussion on Aspirational Indian Automaker Brand War within Indian Auto Sector. Part of The Auto Talk category; Don't have money to think of upgrade or buying a new car
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajay Sreedhar
You seem ...

Even I am not that financially strong at this moment. Will need sometime before I think to upgrade. But I definetely will not think of selling the brio.
I asked it with an assumption that we are strong. And if we are, which would the second car be ? I just wanted to know what category of "thinkers" you belong to. A Booking and purchase with a minimum of TD or a clear verdict of HONDA without a TD. I am again assuming you are completely satisfied with your honda

Yes i am satisfied, under 5 lakhs i could not have got a better car than HONDA Brio not only for city drive but also a beast on the highway due to its wider stance which provide good stability at higher speeds.

I hope in long term also i will be satisfied .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ajay Sreedhar

Even I am not that financially strong at this moment. Will need sometime before I think to upgrade. But I definetely will not think of selling the brio.
I asked it with an assumption that we are strong. And if we are, which would the second car be ? I just wanted to know what category of "thinkers" you belong to. A Booking and purchase with a minimum of TD or a clear verdict of HONDA without a TD. I am again assuming you are completely satisfied with your honda

The last vote option makes most sense, each company makes a range of vehicles today catering to different needs as well as other requirements such as looks etc. So brand really does not matter.

IMHO that general common public in India look at cars in the following areas ordered by priority for buying.

1. Image factor! most important to people! After their home the car is the next big thing people take pride in or showoff.
2. Mileage: While people spend lot of money at initial cost & buy expensive cars to maintain certain status in their communities. We also like to ask "Kitna deti hai"
3. Comfort.
4. Maintenance.
5. Utility.
6. Life or longevity.

There is another set of people with the mindset that VFM is important. So in those cases the first point gets replaced by VFM.

Here’s an interesting report from J.D Power. New car buyers in India are migrating to higher quality brands. Honda and Toyota receives award for the initial quality levels.

Quote:

New-vehicle buyers in India are more frequently choosing to purchase vehicles with fewer initial quality problems, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2013 India Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) released today. The study finds that the sales volumes of automakers that have quality above-industry-average initial quality have increased by an average of 6 percent since 2011. In contrast, automakers whose customers report more quality problems than average have experienced an 8 percent decline in sales during the same period. Moreover, the shift toward purchasing above-industry-average quality vehicles is more pronounced among experienced/repeat buyers, with 27 percent choosing higher quality vehicles during the same period.

“With quality being one of the key drivers for purchasing vehicles, automakers need to focus on achieving exceptional quality levels,” said Mohit Arora, executive director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific, Singapore. “Manufacturers that are able to consistently deliver a high level of quality may be able to garner much higher growth in sales, even in today’s challenging economic environment. On average, sales volume among vehicles that ranked highest in their segment in 2013 has more than doubled since 2011.”

The study, now in its 17th year, measures problems owners experience with their new vehicle during the first two to six months of ownership. The study examines more than 200 problem symptoms covering eight vehicle categories (listed in order of frequency of reported problems): engine and transmission; vehicle exterior; driving experience; HVAC; features, controls and displays; vehicle interior; seats; and audio, entertainment and navigation. All problems are summarized as the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lower PP100 scores indicate a lower rate of problem incidence and therefore higher initial quality.

Overall initial quality in India averages 115 PP100 in 2013, an improvement from 120 PP100 in 2012. HVAC is the only category with a year-over-year increase in the number or reported problems. “Given the extreme summer heat in most parts of India, the HVAC system is widely used in vehicles,” said Arora. “Therefore, an efficient and reliable system is important and focusing on reducing related problems—such as rear seat AC effectiveness—will likely go a long way in lifting owner perceptions of initial quality.”

The study finds that vehicle owner expectations regarding potential quality issues they may experience have a strong bearing on model advocacy. Among vehicle owners who experience fewer problems than expected, 79 percent say they “definitely would” recommend their model to family and friends, compared with 27 percent among those who experience more problems than expected.

Honda and Toyota each have three models that rank highest in their respective segments. Honda models receiving awards are the Brio (upper compact segment); Amaze (entry midsize); and Honda City (midsize). Toyota receives awards for the Innova (MUV/ MPV); Corolla Altis (premium midsize); and Fortuner (SUV). Hyundai Santro ranks highest for the second consecutive year in the compact car segment. Maruti Suzuki’s Alto 800 (entry compact) and Swift (premium compact) rank highest for the second consecutive year in their respective segments.

The 2013 India Initial Quality Study (IQS) is based on evaluations from 9,070 owners who purchased a new vehicle between November 2012 and July 2013. The study includes 74 vehicle models from 17 makes. The study was fielded from May to September 2013 in 25 cities across India.

You have an offer as follows. You are being offered an assembled car, a gem of an engine (atleast in india) say, 2.0L i-vtec or a 1.6multijet with decent list of features in a good old pal premiere car. The cars got all the gizmos. Will you go ahead and buy it in today's age ?

You have an offer as follows. You are being offered an assembled car, a gem of an engine (atleast in india) say, 2.0L i-vtec or a 1.6multijet with decent list of features in a good old pal premiere car. The cars got all the gizmos. Will you go ahead and buy it in today's age ?

My Answer will be like this : "I'll buy a car which I like and the car which suits to my requirement,Brand doesn't a matter to me"

service and network backup is more important. Every Brand has its own horror as well as good story. All the above, I'm going to buy a car, not a brand. So I'm not voting for any brand.

BTW,Currently I've a car from TATA brand and I'm proud to own an Indian Brand

+1000 best post of the thread .

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshuman8

Lets be clear, not all cars from all brands are hit. There are duds also.

So as everyone said, brand does not matter car model does.

+100

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecool

Say of all the cars on Indian road, assuming you have your preferences / criteria sorted out, and after research you like Hyundai i20 as the best pick / you own hyundai i20, and are happy with it and would like to continue, your brand poll here should be HYUNDAI.

..

Great but , that desicion to buy a i20 is requirement based right ? Brand here gets second preference over actual requirement .
I

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surfer

I want to go for 2 brands how can i do that ?

Lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godfather

I think Nishant has used the right word 'Aspiration'. In my opinion the ideal question for this poll will be - 'If you are planning to buy your next car, which aspirational brand will you opt?

This term aspiration makes more sense because the user aspires to own brand X but due to several reason(s) he/she will abstain from this purchase and instead opts for brand Y but this shows his/her affinity towards brand X and the brand perception will stay with him/her for long. I am sure most/all of us have faced this situation at least once in their lifetime, it can be related to the purchase of a car/TV/smart phone/watch etc.

Aspirational value of everything is never static , it keeps changing , it's dynamic and fluid in nature since we gain more and more experiences in life our thinking evolve our dreams , choices , and aspiration changes .

And If that's the case then it has to be a car from jaguar / land rover at this point in life for me . I love cars coming from that stable and I aspire to have one . ( which is subject to change )

And as you mentioned the main reason I have abstained in buying a car from JLR stable right now is vitamin M

On a serious note I have voted for the option " brand dosent matter " because requirement from a car comes first and whichever brand fulfills the requirement in the best possible way at that given point in time gets my money .